Blossom
by ElegantAngelxo
Summary: What if Haruno Sakura's life was completely different? What if she met Naruto and befriended him? How much will this affect the Naruto world? Read and find out! P.S: Don't be mad if it isn't exactly like the anime/manga. Couple is undecided yet, so make sure you review on who you want her to end up with! Better than summary sounds! R
1. Prologue

Blossom

_A.N: Hey guys, I have written a few one-shots, but I'm not too sure if you have met me yet since this will be my first Naruto story! Some of you might not like it, since it's not really something you'd expect. Sakura Haruno isn't the same girl you knew, and I have changed her in quite a few ways. _

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!

Prologue

* * *

A young female walks through the Leaf village park, gently kicking up some dust. Her peers were picking on her again, because of her wide forehead. The young female sighs softly and stares at the ground, her emerald-green eyes softening. It wasn't her fault that she had a huge forehead. If she could blame anyone it would be her family. She shakes her head lightly and looks up, hearing someone crying. The female tilts her head to the side frowning. She takes a small breath before walking over to the lone male on the swing and sitting next to him, swallowing nervously.

"Hey, are you okay?" The young female asks gently swinging. She waits for a few minutes and frowns, not getting a reply. "I'm not going to hurt you." She tries again and turns to look at the male. He was either her age or a little older; he has short blond spiky hair, bright blue eyes, and pale skin. The strangest thing about him were the three whiskers on each cheek. The male, who finally looks over at her, smiles softly and wipes his tears away.

"I~I'm okay." He whispers softly while sniffling. The female smiles, her emerald-green eyes shining brightly.

"My name is Sakura Haruno, what is yours?" The female, known as Sakura, asks swinging higher, ignoring the looks the villagers gave them. The male looks over at her and smiles even more. The first person to stare at him as if he's human. The first person who actually acknowledges him.

"I'm Naruto Uzamaki! Sakura-chan, can we meet and...talk again?" The male, Naruto, asks shyly looking back at the ground. Sakura nods, smiling. She jumps off the swing and lands on her feet before walking in front of his swing and holding out her pinky finger. Naruto looks up and tilts his head.

"You're suppose to connect your pinky with mine. It's a pinky promise." Sakura explains, waiting for him to complete the promise. Naruto laughs, connecting his pinky with hers.

* * *

"Young lady! Why were you talking to that filthy creature?!" Sakura's fathers yells, slamming his fist on the table. Sakura stands in front of the table and blinks, showing no fear. "Answer me, now!" Sakura's mother rushes over and gently grabs onto her husband, frowning.

"She's only a child. She doesn't know what he is." Her mother whispers harshly. Her father raises his hand and slaps his wife, forcing her to fall on the ground.

"Listen here you little brat!" He yells, turning his attention back his daughter, "You are to stay away from him, do I make myself clear?!" Sakura glares crossing her arms over her chest.

"You can't order me to stay away from him. I made a pinky promise that I'll talk to him again." Sakura mumbles, her eyes quickly traveling over to her mother who was on the ground. Her mother's body was emotionless. Sakura's eyes snap back up at her father and frowns.

"Sakura Haruno. You will regret speaking against me. Go to your room, but before you go, take care of your mother!" Her father walks out of the house, slamming the door, probably getting more to drink. Sakura glares at the door before rushing over to her mother and kneeling on the ground, wiping her mother's hair away from her face frowning. Her mother didn't deserve this.

* * *

After Sakura brought her mother to her parents bedroom she walks into her room and sits on her bed, closing her eyes. _It's always like this. I come home and get in trouble, and mother is the one who gets beat. She deserves better than that...beast. _Sakura closes her eyes and feels tears roll down her cheek. _From this day on, I _**will **_start to protect my mother. I will gain strength to save her, from that awful beast, and I will keep my promise to Naruto-kun. _Sakura lays down in her bed before slowly drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Sakura opens her eyes and sits up, yawning. It's been three weeks since she joined the Ninja Academy, and three weeks and one day since her father beat up her mother. Sakura shakes her head lightly and stretches before standing up. She walks over to her closet and changes quietly, brushes her hair, brushes her teeth, and heads downstairs. Her mother stood in the kitchen forcing a smile. Her mother has a new bruise on her right cheek and a black eye on her left. Sakura looks away and grabs an apple and looks around, noticing her father is gone.

"Mother, where is he?" Sakura asks softly taking a small bite of her apple.

"Your father left to go to the bar, dear." Her mother answers before sitting down in another chair and frowning, "He's going to start hurting you, Sakura-chan. You shouldn't have joined the Academy..." Sakura stands up and glares towards the wall.

"I'm going to continue to be in the Academy until I am the greatest Kunochi on earth. He will never be able to touch someone I love, ever!" Sakura's mother smiles sadly and nods, knowing she wouldn't be able to stop her daughter.

* * *

Sakura walks through the streets and smiles softly, heading towards the park. She was meeting Naruto again, just like she promised. She closes her eyes and hums softly, ignoring the gossiping citizens. Ever since she started to talk to Naruto, people have whispered quietly around her. She's learned to ignore it, not matter what they say. She shakes her head lightly. She turns down an alley, only to run into someone. Sakura falls quietly onto the ground and groans softly, looking up. She notices a male around her age blinking in confusion before looking down at her and blinking. The male has black hair that is spiky in the back, but flat in the front, he has pale skin, and dark eyes. He extends his hand out to her and mumbles under his breath. Sakura blushes lightly and grabs his hand before sending him a sheepish smile.

"I'm sorry, I was clumsy." She whispers putting her hand into his and bowing after he pulls her up. She looks up at the male and tilts her head to the side innocently, "I'm Haruno Sakura, who are you?" She asks.

"Sasuke Uchiha." He mumbles and shakes his head, "Be more careful next time, Sakura-chan." He walks past her, heading towards an older boy that looks like him, making her smile lightly.

"Will do, Sasuke-kun!" She yells before running through the alley, knowing she was late to meet Naruto.

* * *

Sakura yawns softly while walking back into her house and greeting her mother. She eats dinner and heads back into her room to go to sleep, knowing the next few years of her life will become busy and hopefully successful.

* * *

_Next chapter will be when they are older! In case you guys didn't notice, they were all pretty young here, so they will 12 next! I don't have much to say except I hope you enjoyed it and to review! Oh, there is one thing I do at the end of my chapters or stories. I ask a question, and usually love to have an answer in the comments. So here is my question; **Who should Sakura end up with? **I hope you guys enjoyed!_

_~ElegantAngelxo_


	2. Chapter 1

_A.N: Well, here is my next chapter! I still don't know who the couple should be, so please review and help me out, eh? If not, I will decide who it will be! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it!_

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!

* * *

**Chapter One**

* * *

Sakura hums softly to herself while looking into her full length mirror, noticing a small scratch on her cheek. She smiles lightly placing a finger on it lightly and closing her eyes. She's been practicing with her best friend, Naruto Uzumaki, for the past few years at the same time everyday. She grabs her brush and starts to brush her waist length long pink hair while sneaking a glance up at her clock. _Twenty more minutes till I leave the house, then I have to pick up Naruto and walk to the academy...I wonder if Hinata will be there? _Sakura thinks to herself with a smirk. Hinata Hyuga, an academy student like herself, have always had a secret crush on her best friend. Sakura feels sorry for the girl, since Naruto is always too dense to notice. After putting the brush down she stares at her outfit, making sure she has everything in check. It was her normal ninja attire; black shorts that went a little past her thigh, a black mesh fish net with a dark red tank top with the Haruno symbol on the back, and kunoichi ninja sandals with a small heel on the end. She nods, heading downstairs. She passes a picture of her mother and stops, tilting her head to the side.

She kisses the tip of her finger before placing it on her mother's cheek, frowning. Her father murdered her a few years ago when Sakura was at the academy, training. She came home to find her mother killed on the floor and was attacked from behind. She lightly places her hand on her side and winces. Her father placed her own kunai on her side and slowly cut her skin, smirking evilly has she bled. Thankfully, an ANBU showed up in time and knocked him out before he could do anymore damage. Sakura was sent to the hospital immediately, and was treated. Strangely enough, she asked for them to keep her scar, wanting it to be a reminder.

She shakes her head and frowns. _Come on, I need to go pick up the prankster. _Sakura thinks to herself grabbing an apple and walking out the door before locking it. She walks through the village, greeting the citizens as she walks past. After she arrives in front of Naruto's apartment she walks up the stairs and knocks on his door, only to get silence in return. She sighs, resisting the urge to facepalm herself. Yesterday the idiot thought it would be funny to paint all over the Hokage's faces, _and _skip class, which resulted in the class getting punished.

"Naruto Uzumaki, you have five seconds to open this door and get up! If you do not I will _kick _your door down!" Sakura warns him, getting into the position to kick the door down, only to hear a whimper and crashes from the room in front of her, making her smirk. **Hell yeah! Idiot. Can't we go and see Sasuke-san already?! **Sakura's inner asks making Sakura sigh, _No inner. I'd rather not go deaf by all his fangirls. Why are you so obsessed with him anyways? It's not because he's a Uchiha, is it? _Sakura thinks back while opening up the door and walking in, watching Naruto run around in his boxers. She rolls her eyes and leans against the door with her arms crossed. It wouldn't be her first time seeing him in his boxers. Not that she minded. "You better hurry. We have the exams today, idiot." She mutters throwing away the core of her apple and walking towards the door, picking up her weapon pouch that she left at his house and putting it on. Naruto nods and quickly finishes his ramen and stands next to her, grinning brightly. He wore his normal ninja attire; a black tight shirt with an orange jacket zipped halfway, he also wore orange jumper pants that went with his jacket, making her roll her eyes. He was overall very handsome.

"Heh, Sakura-chan, stop checking me out. We have to go." Naruto says, chucking before running away from the angry Sakura whose chasing after him, shaking her hand angrily at him.

* * *

Naruto runs into the classroom with Sakura closely behind him yelling at him. Naruto trips over a desk, knocking over a bunch of Saskue's fangirls, and falling into the seat next to Sasuke growling.

"Dope." Sasuke mutters while shaking his head and looking forward, used to Naruto's behavior. Naruto turns to Sasuke before jumping ontop of the desk with a glare.

"What was that, teme?!" Naurto questions while Sakura calmly walks over to the two fighting students and sitting down next to Sasuke to separate the two once Naruto gets out of his face.

"Naruto-kun, Sasuke-san." She calls, trying to get their attention only to fail. She sighs. "Don't blame me if something happens between you two..." She mutters leaning back and looking at Sasuke. He looks like the same except he was much more emotionless than he was. She frowns. _I can't blame him. Itachi-san did kill his whole family. What made him spare Sasuke's life though? Love? _Sakura sighs, only to focus her attention onto her two classmates and laugh; they were kissing. Naruto pulls away quickly and jumps onto Sakura crying while Sasuke hisses in dislike and spitting out any of the germs. "I told you so." She giggles, ignoring the girls growling at Naruto.

* * *

Sakura and Naruto walks into the Ramen stand before sitting down on the stool and talking quietly with each other. They just got done with the exams and now have their well-earned Konoha headbands in their hands. Sakura runs a hand through her hair before tying the headband around her shoulder smiling lightly and looking over at Naruto; he put his around his forehead.

"We finally made it, Naruto-kun." Sakura whispers after they ordered their meals. Naruto nods from next to her while pulling her into a one-arm hug grinning happily and squeezing her arm gently.

"Yes; we did." Naruto replies while Sakura leans onto him, tears slowly falling from her eyes. "It's okay to cry, Sakura-chan. Are we going to stop by the grave...? Or do you want to go alone?" Sakura wipes her tear lightly and sniffles.

"I think I'm going to go on my own, Naruto-kun. Thank you for caring so much though." She whispers placing a small kiss on his cheek before the food was placed in front of them. Naruto removes his arm from her before separating his chop sticks and slurping on his ramen happily; Sakura slowly opened up hers and ate politely but quick. After she finishes she pulls out money to pay for it only to have Naruto throw down is money first.

"I'll pay. See you later." Naruto says standing up and placing another hug on Sakura. Sakura rests her head on his chest while listening to his heart beat to calm herself down before smiling. Naruto was always their for her, and she will for him. Sakura turns on her heel and waves, heading towards the gravesite.

Sakura walks over to a gravesite under a cherry blossom tree and kneels down in front, placing a bundle of white roses on it before closing her eyes and putting her hands together, praying. She reopens her eyes, a sad smile tugging on her lips.

"Hey mother. It's been awhile, hasn't it?" She whispers to the wind, not caring for anything else, "Things have changed quite a bit since the last time I visited. It's been many years...since you were buried here actually. I made a promise to myself the next time you see me is when I pass my exam; so here I am!" She laughs sadly, wiping away her tears, "I know I shouldn't be this emotional as a kunoichi, but I can't help it. I miss you mom. Dad's still in jail, I don't even know if he's alive or with you." She frowns, "He better not be with you. He's a murderer. He deserves hell..." Sakura pauses, tilting her head to the side, "Strangely enough I won't join you in heaven either. I am most likely to kill many lives myself. Not that I can stop it." She gently places a kiss on her finger and puts it over her mother's grave, "If dad is alive...he'll be let out soon. It's been almost five years." The wind blows gently across her face, as if it was blowing her worries away, "Remember the Uchihas'? They are most likely up their with you, unless they went to hell too..." She sighs, "This is quite confusing. Will I be going to hell when I die? Let me get back on to topic, eh? Sasuke, the young male I told you about before the incident, is all about revenge now. I hope I can change before he harms others. I don't...want to see another friend leave; even though he doesn't think of me like that." She shakes her head lightly, staring up at the sun setting, "I think it's time for me to make my leave. I will visit sooner, hopefully not in the death way." Sakura stands up and turns around, only to bump into one of her classmates. She blinks before looking away, trying to hide her tears.

"Sakura..." The male mumbles, his eyes widen from surprise. Sakura shyly glances over at him and smiles weakly.

"Hello...Shikamaru." She greets looking up at the male in front of her; he has medium length hair that is pulled into a pony tail, brown eyes, and pale skin. Shikamaru nods, his eyes not leaving the grave.

"Who is that?" He questions raising an eyebrow. No one knew what happened to her family, since it's not really important to them.

"My mother, I'd rather not talk about it." Sakura mumbles glancing back up at the sky, "Sorry Shikamaru. I believe I should leave though." She whispers to him before running past, leaving the young Nara alone.

* * *

Naruto walks into the classroom and sits next to Sakura yawning. He hasn't talked to her since she went to the grave. He had to admit, he was worried about her. He sighs gently nudging her with his arm. She looks over and smiles, forcefully. He opens his mouth, about to say something when Iruka walks in, calling them to attention.

"Alright, congratulations on passing! I will now read off the teams!" Iruka says, ignoring the murmurs that erupted in the classroom. He continues to read the teams before looking up at Naruto with a small grin, "Team seven, Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzamaki, and Sasuke Uchiha!" Naruto cheers quietly, ignoring the teacher.

So he will be able to stay with Sakura, for now.

* * *

_As of now my question will remain the same, **Who should Sakura end up with? **It can be anyone really, just leave a comment and I'll be sure to think about it! I do want to remind you my replies may be slow since I do have another story I'm working on, which I haven't updated since last week. So this might be my last chapter update for this week on this story. Who knows, maybe I'll have inspiration to write this one though! Take care all!_

_~ElegantAngelxo_


	3. Chapter 2

Blossom

* * *

_A.N: Not much to say here. I'm not liking this chapter as much as the others, but that might be because I'm exhausted. So, I might replace this chapter late on with a better version. Sorry it took so long to update! Hope you enjoy! Oh, and don't forget to review! _

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

Chapter Two

* * *

Sasuke growls softly under his breath after hearing Iruka announce that they have teammates. He frowns deeply, listening to the fangirls start to whisper to each other, trying to decide who would end up with him. _Idiots. Is that all they think about? Me? They should be working on getting stronger! _He shakes his head slightly while trying to not yell at anyone. He does not want to be stuck with Ino; actually, he didn't want to be with any of his fangirls. Or Naruto. Naruto just makes his blood boil so fast. _Who would I want on my team? _He asks himself, quietly looking around the room, and frowning. _No one. They are all a bunch of weak idiots. If anything I'd like to end up with the Hyuuga, or Haruno. They aren't fangirls, and they both seem somewhat stronger than most. Definitely not Naruto though. He's such an idiot._

"Team seven, Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha!" Iruka yells, interrupting his thoughts. He groans softly. He's now stuck with the infamous 'couple'. He smirks lightly at the thought. _Did they even date? Or maybe it's because they are real close friends? _

* * *

After Iruka finished calling off all the teams, he felt someone grab onto his arm tightly. He looks over and sees Ino, crying. She looks up at him with her blue eyes and sniffles, wiping away her tears quietly.

"S~Sasuke-kun, my love! We can't be separated, we just can't!" Ino cries making him growl lightly under his breath. He turns is attention towards his new teammates who were walking over to him. Sakura stops and looks at him, sending him a small, shy smile.

"Sasuke? I know you like being alone...but I just thought maybe you'd like to go out to eat with us? Don't get me wrong, it's not a date!" She finishes quickly, glancing over at Ino who was glaring at her, "I understand if you don't. If you change your mind we are going to get some ramen." Sakura turns on her heel and waves at him, smiling. Sasuke stands up, startling Naruto and Ino. He walks over to Sakura and smirks.

"Well, if we don't eat ramen I'll go." He turns to Naruto and smirks even more, "Dope." He adds walking out of the room, expecting them to follow. Slowly, Sakura pulls Naruto along and hums lightly, finally falling in step with the Uchiha.

"Sasuke?" Sakura asks softly running a hand through her hair curiously, "I was wondering...why did you agree?" Sasuke looks over at her and shakes his head at the shortest member of the team.

"To get away from Ino." He replies, not telling the full truth. He doesn't like her, but he believes they can become good friends, as long as she doesn't turn into a fangirl. "Where are we going?"

"Ramen! I don't care what you say!" Naruto yells, waving his fist threateningly at the other male, "Just because you can join us now doesn't mean you are the leader, teme!" Sakura, listens to the two males argue and laugh.

"We are going to eat some dango. You better be paying for yourself though." She tells them, turning into the little restaurant. She sits down at a table while the males sit next to each other, making her smirk. After they ordered, the two males were thrown into another argument. _Well, this should be an interesting team. Fighting like a bunch of kids. _She thinks to herself rolling her eyes and eating quietly.

* * *

Sakura resists the urge to slam her head on the desk, listening to her teammates argue for the hundredth time. _Will those two just give up?! I don't want to deal with them anymore! _Sakura thinks, mentally groaning. **Hey, it's your fault. You are the one to invite Sasuke-kun. **Inner says smirking. Sakura rolls her eyes, _He's a teammate. I can't just not invite him, stupid. _**You just insulted yourself. **Sakura glares at the poor wall in front of her, making her teammates look over at her, curious.

"Teme, why is she glaring at a wall?" Naruto whispers into Sasuke's ear; Sasuke shrugs, unsure.

* * *

Kakashi looks up from his book and blinks, noticing he's four hours late. He chuckles lowly before standing up, deciding he had them wait long enough. He closes his book, puts it in his weapon pouch, and starts walking towards the academy. _My team will be interesting, to say the least. Sasuke Uchiha, probably bent with revenge, doubt he'll be able to do teamwork. So the team will most likely fail. The two that I'm worried about is Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki. They do use teamwork, and Sakura is said to have a charm to will others to come with her...she may be able to get the Uchiha to work with them. _He chuckles softly, walking into the building, _I saw her with them in the dango shop; ready to kill them by the looks of it. _Kakashi walks into the room, letting himself get hit by the eraser before glaring, planning to scare them.

"My first impression of you guys..." He starts dramatically, "I hate you." Sasuke stays emotionless, Naruto stomps his foot childishly, and Sakura just blinks before smiling. _He's funny, a bit mysterious, but I like him. _Sakura thinks, breaking into a fit of laughter. Her teammates immediately look over at her, blinking. "Anyways...Meet me at the roof." Kakashi mumbles, his eyes drifting over to the female, raises his eyebrow, and teleports away.

"Sakura-channn." Naruto whines poking her cheek, "Don't you dare be alone with him, ever! He kept looking at you! He's probably a pervert!" Sakura rolls her eyes and pushes him off of her.

"Let's go guys, he's waiting." Sakura says giggling quietly and walking up to the roof while the guys raced.

After everyone arrives on top of the roof they sat down, waiting for the sensei's instructions.

"Well, let's introduce ourself."

"What are we suppose to say?" Sakura asks, tilting her head to the side.

"Name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams..." Kakashi answers.

"You should go first." Sakura tells him while staring at him curiously, "You look pretty suspicious with your mask, and Naruto wants to kill you." She laughs softly, knowing Naruto is pretty protective over her.

"My name is Kakashi Hatake, I have many likes and dislikes, as for my hobby I have many, and I never really thought of my dream." Sakura stares at him in disbelief. He didn't tell them anything, really. "Blondie, it's your turn."

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I like ramen and hanging out with Sakura-chan, I dislike rude people and anyone who tries to hurt Sakura, my hobby is training with Sakura and eating different kind of ramen, and my dream is to become hokage so more people can start to respect me!" _So, he's obsessed with Sakura and ramen, surprisingly he doesn't mention hating Sasuke...Why is he glaring at me? _Kakashi thinks curiously. "And if you ever stare at Sakura like that again I'll kill you!"

"Alright... emo boy."

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I like very few things, and I hate many. My hobby is training, and my dream is killing a certain someone and restoring my clan." Sasuke replies, ignoring the silence. _I was right, all about revenge. That can be a problem in the future. _Kakashi thinks glancing over at Sakura who was looking down at the ground. _Scared perhaps? _

"Alright, last."

"My name is Sakura Haruno, I like watching the stars at night, and I hate...well, I guess I hate people who treat other people like trash. My hobby is probably training and star-gazing, and my dream is to be strong, to be able to protect those I care. I guess you can say my dream is becoming a ANBU. I also wish to become a medic ninja, and trained under the famous sannin." She laughs softly, "But that's probably impossible." _She's interesting... I don't understand why a girl like that would want to become an ANBU. She'll be murdering people.. _

"Alright. We will meet tomorrow at training ground seven. Don't be late, or eat. We need to see if you really are genin." Kakashi finishes.

"Aren't we genin now?" Naruto asks raising an eyebrow.

"No. You guys _can _become the genin though. You have a 66% chance of passing." He then teleports away, giggling while reading his book.

* * *

Sakura pants heavily, leaning on a tree with her eyes closed. She's been training for awhile now, scared of failing the test. She told her mother she passed. She can **not **fail. She groans quietly and covers her eyes, ignoring the footsteps that are coming closer to her.

"Sakura." Shikamaru mumbles, sitting down next to the girl, watching her sigh.

"Shikamaru." She greets, nodding once before sitting up and yawning, "Whatcha doing here?"

"Mother is throwing a fuss about me being too lazy. She sent me out to train." He answers truthfully, "Shouldn't you be heading towards home though? It's getting late." Sakura shrugs.

"Not really. I'll leave later." Sakura replies, sending him a soft smile, "I still have to train. I can't fail." Shikamaru raises an eyebrow at the girl front of him before sighing and standing up, holding his hand out.

"Then let's spar, shall we?" Sakura looks up at him and nods, grabbing his hand. He pulls her up before letting go and taking a few steps away. _This is troublesome...but, she's usually calm and smart. The chance of her failing is messing her up. If she keeps thinking like this she really will fail. I just need to set her straight. _Shikamaru thinks, dodging her punch and grabbing her arm, twisting it behind her. He quickly captures her other one and slams her onto the tree, letting his breath hit her ear, "Sakura. I'd love to actually spar with you, but your mind is too clouded. Relax and just remember what you read about in the academy." Sakura makes a small noise of disagreeing before pouting, and nodding.

"I understand, Shikamaru." She tells him truthfully, feeling his grip release on her. She turns to him and sighs, her eyes holding sadness, "Was I really that weak..?" Shikamaru shakes his head.

"No. You're just confused and tired. You do know it's like ten at night right?" He watches her shake her head and smirks, "You're such a troublesome girl." Sakura laughs softly and sticks her tongue out. "Here, I'll walk you home."

* * *

_Awesome right? Meh, I think I might fix a few things on this chapter, so I might replace it later on. I hope you guys enjoyed! And my question is; _**What other couples would you like to see in the story? **_I know in the anime, Sakura isn't the shortest, but I decided to change that. Also, Shikamaru is a bit OOC, but this is my fanfiction, so he'll act like this all the time. Basically, this is my Shikamaru for the story. If Sakura can be OOC here, why can't someone else, eh? Yes, I know it's pretty obvious who she will "end" up with, but most stories it is obvious. Now, just because you know who she will end up with doesn't mean they are going to be together in the next chapter. So I hope you guys understand that. Thanks for reading, I hope you review! _

_~ElegantAngelxo_


	4. Chapter 3

_A.N: Well, here is my next chapter! Thanks everyone for reviewing, adding my story to favorites, and following! I hope you all enjoy! And don't forget to review!_

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

Chapter Three

* * *

Sakura wakes up the next morning and sits up, ignoring her muscles that scream in pain. It probably wasn't her best idea, to go out and train all day when she has to do a mission with her team. She sighs softly and glances over at the clock, noticing she has an hour before she has to arrive at the training ground. She stands up and grabs a towel and washcloth before walking into the shower.

After she finishes, she steps out of the shower and wraps her towel around herself. Walking into her room, she notices she wasted almost thirty minutes cleaning herself up. _I have to admit, I'm glad I did take a shower. After training for over five hours, I was covered in sweat. _She wrinkles her nose at the thought, _I probably smelled disgusting. _She dries her body before slipping into her normal ninja attire; she places her headband around her waist. She walks downstairs and grabs an apple and eats it, hoping Naruto was smart enough to eat something. After eating, she threw her core away, and brushed her hair, putting it in a side pony tail. Glancing up at the clock one last time, she runs out of the house, locking it.

"Sakura!" Naruto yells, running full speed at her and tackling her to the ground, grinning, "Nice of you to show up, ten minutes late though." Sakura rolls her eyes from under him before wrapping her arms around him and sticking her tongue out at him.

"Sorry, Naruto," She says while pushing him off, "I ran into some of our old classmates. They were hiding from Ino." Her gaze shifts to Sasuke and grins, "Apparently she went crazy when she didn't get on Sasuke's team."

"Hn." Sasuke grumbles, returning her gaze and throwing her is arrogant smirk. _I feel like I've met her before... but it wasn't from the academy...Hmmm... _Sasuke thinks, closing his eyes and leaning against a tree, trying to remember, _Before the incident maybe...? _After a few minutes he gave up.

* * *

"Gah! What the hell?! Do we really have the lazy sensei that doesn't show up?!" Naruto yells, punching the tree he was next to while growling. "I just want to pass this stupid test and get on with it! I don't have forever after all, becoming hokage will be hard work!" Sakura looks over at him and frowns, remember how she acted yesterday. She walks over to him and places a hand on his shoulder before smiling.

"Naruto, we all want to become genin, _believe _me." Sakura starts, placing her head on his forehead, "I need you to calm down though. If you act impatient, you may ruin your chance. Okay?" She asks him staring into his eyes. He nods. She turns over to Sasuke and walks over to him, "And Sasuke?" She calls, seeing him open up his eyes to glance over at her, "Remember we are on your team too. It's not you against the world." He nods, showing her head her.

Suddenly, Kakashi appears behind Sakura and waves innocently, his gaze on the female again. _Did she really find out the true meaning of my test? Before we even started? No...even if she did I can use her against them. Yes. Anyways, if they see that there are only two bells... _He eyes his teammates questioningly noticing Sakura is shifting nervously, Naruto is glaring, and Sasuke just stands up.

"Today, you will all be fighting against me, trying to get these bells from me." Kakashi holds up the two bells and smirks mentally, watching all of their eyes widen in recognition.

"Kakashi-sensei...there are only two bells." Naruto points out, his eyes glancing between his two teammates. _Only two bells? Is he suggesting one of us have to lose? _Naruto thinks, suddenly becoming tense.

"Yes. Whoever gets the bell passes; the one who fails gets tied to the stomp over there." He points to three stomps, "Oh and, you all can fail if no one gets it." He notices Sasuke tense up and Sakura looking away. immediately, Naruto attacks Kakashi running full speed at him while carrying a kunai knife. Kakashi catches his arm and smiles lightly, "I haven't said start yet, but i will say that I'm starting to like you guys. Coming at me to kill me, it was perfect." He lets Naruto go and watches them all take a few steps back. "Ready, set go!" He yells, watching them all disappear, even Naruto. _That's surprising. After he rushed at me I thought he would try and fight me right away. _He looks around the training ground with his eyes and spots them all, hidden pretty good.

"Hey, old man! Let's fight now!" Naruto yells running out of his spot. He watches as Kakashi takes out his book and sweat drops, "Are you...reading?" Kakashi nods once making Naruto growl, "Am I not strong enough?!" Naruto yells in frustration before throwing a punch in Kakashi's direction only to be blocked. After a few more failed attempts of Naruto's attacks, he is shoved into the water.

* * *

Sakura watches Naruto fail from her hiding spot and groans. _He's such an idiot sometimes! Did he not hear me warm him? _Sakura thinks watching Naruto swim out of the water and attack Kakashi again. _He's so impatient.. _Naruto falls on the ground making her growl lightly under her breath. She stands up and pulls out a kunai knife from her weapon pouch before running out too late. Naruto fell for Kakashi's trick and was dangling helplessly from the tree. Kakashi turns to her, getting read to put her in a genjutsu when he notices kunai knifes fly towards his direction. He quickly uses the replacement jutsu and looks over at Sasuke who threw them.

_Are they working together? Or is this just a weird coincidence? _Kakashi thinks going into hiding. He watches as Sakura cut Naruto out of the trap and hit him over the head, hard.

"You idiot! I told you _not _to be impatient! And what do you do? You are even more impatient!" She yells at him before pulling him into a hug, "You had me worried, don't do it again." She mumbles into his ear while he smiles nervously and rubs the back of his head.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan." He apologizes before standing up and pulling her up with him, "Let's find Sasuke-teme. He may need out help." Sakura nods in agreement before they run into the forest, looking for Kakashi and Sasuke.

* * *

"It looks like Naruto and Sakura will be the ones to get the bells, Sasuke." Kakashi tells Sasuke with a smile while watching Sasuke get ready to attack him.

"Shut up!" Sasuke hisses, forgetting Sakura's advice, "I am better than both of them, and I will be the one to pass!" Sasuke starts to form handsigns, and blows fire out of his mouth at Kakashi. While the fire and smoke disappears he notices Kakashi is nowhere to be seen. He curses quietly under his breath while looking around, trying to find him. "I'm right here." Kakashi mumbles, his arm shooting out of the ground and dragging Sasuke under the ground, only leaving his head, "You are somewhat right. You will be the only one to fail." Kakashi chuckles before leaving him, looking for his other two students.

Once he disappears, Sakura and Naruto run out of the woods and notices Sasuke. Sakura immediately glares at him before stomping over and crossing her arms over her chest, looking annoyed at him.

"Sasuke Uchiha! Do you not remember what I told you?! You aren't by yourself, no matter what you think! Me and Naruto will be by your side to help and train together." Sakura kneels down in front of him, "You're an idiot.." She lightly flicks his forehead before looking at Naruto, "Help me dig him out."

After they finally dug him out, the bell rings, echoing through the forest. Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke frown lightly before heading back to the stomps and sit down. Kakashi appears in front of them and looks over at Sasuke, glaring.

"You will be tied to the stomp. You didn't use any teamwork, at all." Kakashi appears behind Sasuke and ties him to the stomp while looking at the other two, smiling widely, "Congratulations you two! You have passed, Sasuke, you are getting kicked out of the program, permentaly." _Now, if Sakura and Naruto agree they will fail...if they don't agree, they will all pass. _

"Can we eat first, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asks while all of their stomaches growl loudly, showing him the other two want to eat too. "Me and Sakura will not answer until we get to eat." Sakura nods, agreeing with him.

"Fine, but if you feed any to Sasuke you will all fail, and be dropped." Kakashi warns them while handing Sakura and Naruto lunches and disappearing. Sakura stands up and looks at Naruto.

"Check the grounds for him, now." She orders, leaving him no choice to argue. To Sasuke's surprise, Naruto immediately got up and started to look around before turning to Sakura and nodding. "Alright. We are clear." She smiles gently at Sasuke and walks over to him, and picks up a bite with her chopsticks. She holds it in front of his mouth, "Say 'Ahhh'" She tells him teasingly. He opens up his mouth and swallows it.

Suddenly, the clear sky turned into dark, storm clouds, and the temperature dropped by ten degrees. Naruto arrives in front of Sakura protectively and holds out his arms when Kakashi appeared in front of them, glaring.

"What is this? Did Sakura feed Sasuke?" He asks while Sakura nods from behind Naruto, glaring lightly, "And why did you do it?"

"We are a team, if Sasuke doesn't eat he can't help us." Naruto answers, watching Kakashi open up his mouth, about to say something, "You just yelled at him for not using teamwork. So why should me and Sakura not give him food? He will need it to help us." Kakashi smiles slightly under his mask while the clouds disappear.

"If you say that, then you all pass. Team seven is officially a genin team." Kakashi announces while Sakura unties Sasuke from the stomp.

"Hey guys, wanna go get some dango?" Sakura asks smiling, "As a congratulations?" She turns to Kakashi, "Of course you will be coming with us too, sensei. And I expect you to pay for us too." Kakashi looks down at her and sweat drops, noticing she left him no room to argue.

"You just ate though..." Kakashi grumbles before he was dragged to the dango restaurant. _They still have a long way to go, but I'm glad they are my teammates. Maybe Sakura can change Sasuke's mind. _Kakashi thinks watching Sakura be sandwich between her two teammates. "Tomorrow, we will start with training and missions." He informs them, not expecting them to actually listen.

"You know we will do great, believe it!" Naruto yells, throwing his fist in the air. Sakura joins with him and smiles lightly, nunding Sasuke's side. He sighs and puts his hand in the air. She turns to Kakashi and glares, making him join them.

* * *

_Different from the actual episode, but it makes sense. Sakura and Naruto are really close. Next chapter will probably be the start the mission to the waves! I hope you enjoy and please review! No question for this chapter...and so I have nothing more to say. _

_~ElegantAngelxo_


	5. Chapter 4

_A.N: Currently, I am questioning myself on the couple I thought I was going to have, so we'll just have to wait and see, eh? I also want to thank everyone who is still reading this story, I hope I don't disappoint you guys! And I hope you enjoy! _

Disclaimer: i do not own Naruto

* * *

Chapter Four

* * *

"Target is spotted." Sakura whispers into her headset while hiding behind a tree, peeking over, making sure the target hasn't moved. _This is so boring...I just want to go out and train some until it's night, then go watch the stars... _Sakura thinks to herself, waiting for her two teammates to reply.

"I see it now, and I arrived at my point." Naruto says from under a bush.

"Hn." Sasuke mumbles looking over at the target.

"Alright, now!" Kakashi orders from a tree a few yards away and watches as Naruto jumps out, only to have the cat run off. Sakura and Sasuke walk over to Naruto and sigh.

"Naruto...next time, leave me to get the cat." Sakura grumbles while shaking her head in disbelief. She turns to Sasuke and pushes Naruto over at him, "Watch him. I'm going after the poor cat." Sakura leaves before they have the chance to reject the request.

"This is your fault, teme!" Naruto growls, pointing at Sasuke accusingly. Sasuke rolls his eyes and leans against the tree, knowing Sakura would probably punish him if he followed after her.

"Not going after your girlfriend, baka?" Sasuke asks, curious if the two actually date. Naruto looks over at him, his eyes widening at the thought before chuckling.

"Me and Sakura? Oh, the infamous couple rumor right?" Naruto asks rubbing the back of his head, "We don't date, but if you try to date her you will be killed, Sasuke." Naruto says using his name so he knows he's serious, "I'll protect that girl with my life. She saved me from falling into darkness, and she's just the sweetest thing I've ever met." Naruto opens his mouth, about to say something else when Sakura's voice from the headsets interrupt them.

"Guys, I caught the cat. Start heading towards the Hokage tower." Sakura orders. Naruto starts to run towards the Hokage tower with Sasuke following closely behind. Kakashi just disappeared and reappeared in front of the tower, knowing Sakura would kill him if he didn't show up.

* * *

"Stupid cat, he deserves this!" Naruto grumbles while crossing his arms over his chest, watching the cat be hugged tightly by his owner. _The poor cat...I hope he is okay.. _Sakura thinks while leaning against the wall and stares up at the Hokage, waiting for her next mission.

"How about you babysit the nobleman's grandson?" The third Hokage asks, raising his eyebrow in amusement. He heard about the infamous couple, and knew Sakura helped him get away while being chased once in a while.

"No! Old man, can't we get a better mission?! I want to leave the village and explore!" Naruto yells while pointing at him. _I knew this was coming... _Sakura thinks and sighs, looking down at the ground. Kakashi groans softly to himself and hits his forehead with his palm. Sasuke only shakes his head in shame of his teammate. The third Hokage glares down at Naruto and starts to explain the duties of ninja's, of course no one listened but Sakura who stood politely in front of the Hokage and nodded once in a while. "You always tell me to stop being a prankster, I'm old enough to travel out of the village for a mission!" Naruto yells, pointing his finger at the Hokage.

"If that's how you see it, Naruto, I suppose I can send you guys on a C-rank mission, as long as the other two agree." Sakura and Sasuke look at each other before nodding. "Alright, you will be protecting someone. Bring in the client!" He orders. Suddenly, the door is banged open and a old man walks in with a bottle of saké in his hand. He takes a big gulp, ignoring the liquid that fell from the side of his mouth.

"These little kids are going to protect me? Heh, I doubt they can even defeat a fly!" The older male mocks, "Specially that idiotic looking one." Naruto's eyes flash dangerously at the male who was pointing at him, "Yeah, I'm talking about you, kid." Naruto jumps out, getting ready to attack him when Sakura lightly grabs his hand and pulls him towards her, making him crash into her. She winces lightly when his head slams into hers and let's go of his hand, rubbing her now red forehead.

"Naruto, don't attack the client.." Sakura warns closing one eye in pain. If he wasn't so hard-headed she wouldn't mind. Naruto turns to her and notices a red spot forming and gasps. He wraps his arms around her and starts crying dramatically on her shoulder.

"Sakura-chan! I'm suppose to protect you, not hurt you. Are you okay?" Naruto cries out while Sakura rolls her head and nods.

"Dope, she's a kunoichi. It might of hurt, but what can you expect? Her to come out with no scratch?" Sasuke asks rolling his eyes, but if someone would look close enough, they could see the amusement in his eyes. Kakashi closes his book and sighs. His team was so unique compared to some of the others that were in here before.

"My name is Tazuna, and I am the great master bridge-builder of the Land of Waves. I expect you to lead me safely to my land." The man, Tazuna, has short grey hair, glasses, a grey beard, and dark eyes. He's wearing a sleeveless brown shirt, pants, and a pair of sandles. He also has a towel around his neck and a pointed hat on his head. Sakura sighs softly before forcing herself to smile at him.

"Alright team. We will head out in about an hour. Everyone will be at the village gate." Kakashi orders, planning to finish his book when Sakura suddenly grabs his hand and glares.

"Kakashi-sensei," She grumbles threateningly, "you better show up on time...because if you don't your head is going to go through a wall!" Kakashi laughs nervously and nods before disappearing. Sakura turns to the rest of her team and smiles sweetly, "I'll see you guys later. I'm going to go home and pack." She tells them walking past Tazuna, "Pleasure to meet you Tazuna, my name is Sakura Haruno."

* * *

Sakura walks through the village with her bag slung on her shoulder. She walks through the park and notices one of her old classmates were out there playing with his dog. She couldn't help but to smile gently and kneel down when the dog ran over to her. She gently strokes him behind his ear and laughs when he licks her cheek.

"Oh, it's you Sakura-chan." Kiba Inuzuka, a member of team eight, says smiling down at her. He has messy brown hair, sharp black eyes with vertical slit-like pupils, and two red fang markings on his cheeks. She watches as he smiles bigger and laughs softly at his canine teeth.

"Afternoon to you too, Kiba-kun." She says teasingly while rubbing Akamaru's ear once more before sitting up and watching him stare at her bag. "We are going out on a C-rank mission. Naruto-baka wouldn't stop complaining." She explains to him while wiping her hands over her clothes to make sure no dust was on it, "I'm sorry to make this short, Kiba-kun, but my team will be leaving the village in ten minutes. I can't be late." She turns on her heel and waves, heading down the streets of Konoha.

* * *

She arrives at the gate and sits down on the bench waiting for the rest of her teammates to show up. She knows they will most likely be late, especially Kakashi. She chuckles softly while shaking her head. She couldn't ask for a better team. Sure, Naruto's and Sasuke's fighting does get annoying, but it proves to her that she can keep him from going after revenge. She closes her eyes and stretches before sensing someone head towards her. She opens up her eyes and sees Shikamaru standing in front of her with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Shikamaru-kun,"Sakura greets, standing up. She tilts her head back slightly to see his face before smiling, "I have to thank you about a few days ago. You really did help me, if it wasn't for you I would have probably failed." She tells him truthfully. He stands in front of her and smiles lightly.

"As troublesome as it was, you're welcome." He tells her while rubbing the back of his head, "I see you are leaving...?" He asks, raising his eyebrow at her bag. She nods.

"Yes, you know how antsy Naruto is." She tells him, "He wouldn't shut up until the Hokage gave him an exciting mission." Shikamaru rolls his eyes. The two of them talk quietly together after he joins her on the bench and smiles. Shikamaru stands up when her team starts to come. Sakura looks over at them before standing up and facing Shikamaru. She gently wraps her arms around him, giving him a friendly hug. "I'll see you when I return, okay, Shikamaru?" She tells him before releasing him and looks over towards the gate when Kakashi arrives. Shikamaru blinks, noticing the looks he got from her two teammates. _You sure have scary teammates... _Shikamaru thinks, walking away.

"Sakura! Why did you hug him?!" Naruto yells tackling her into a hug and pouting, "You are only allowed to hug me!" Sakura rolls her eyes and gently pushes him off.

"I'm allowed to hug whoever I want, Naruto. You know that." She tells him before gently kissing his forehead to calm him down. "Let's go, we have a long way to travel. And with that Team seven exits the village, heading towards the Land of Waves.

* * *

_I'm going to be honest, I don't know what couple I'm doing yet...but when the time comes we'll decide. __**Would you like Sakura to join in on the fights? **__Remember, I won't always go with what you say. I'm just curious, really. Please review!_

_~ElegantAngelxo_


	6. Chapter 5

_A.N: Man was this a tough one to write. I've written this chapter so many times that my head is hurting while I finish adding in my note. I have to say, this isn't my favorite but I do like it at some points. I don't have much more to say I hope you enjoy! _

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

Chapter Five

* * *

_Inner-chan? _Sakura asks quietly to her inner self while walking besides Naruto,** Yes? **Inner asks tilting her head to the side, waiting for Sakura to reply, _Is it strange that Tazuna looks like he's tense? _Inner runs a hand through her hair while nodding. **It is rather odd. It's like he's waiting for something bad to happen. Stay by his side and stand strong. I have a feeling Tazuna is hiding something-something big at that. **Inner tells Sakura before smiling lightly and disappearing, **If you need something else, just call. **Sakura nods once before glancing over at Tazuna, noticing how tense his shoulders are. She walks up to him and gently taps his shoulder, tilting her head to the side.

"Tazuna-san?" Sakura asks softly. Tazuna looks down at the girl and raises his eyebrow and takes a drink of his sake. He nods once, telling her to continue. "I was wondering if you need to rest? You seem tired, and really tense." Tazuna quickly shakes his head.

"No," He says roughly, "I don't need to rest. We should keep moving so I can finish building the bridge for my village." Sakura raises her eye brow in confusion before nodding slightly and falling back in step with Naruto, who raises his eyebrow curiously at her. Sakura smiles lightly and gestures Sasuke to come over and join them. Surprisingly, Sasuke walks over to them and glances over, waiting for Sakura to say something.

"Doesn't it seem strange to you? How tense he is?" Sakura asks gesturing over to Tazuna who was walking in front of them, oblivious, "I just find it weird how he's tense and doesn't want to stop walking, even though it's clear how exhausted he is..." Naruto sighs softly.

"Maybe he's worried for his village? You are thinking too much Sakura, relax." Sakura shoots him a glare and crosses her arms over her chest with a pout.

"Naruto-kun, you're so mean." She cries out slowing down her pace for them to go ahead of her. Once the two males were in front of her she wipes her eyes of the false tears and lightly runs a hand through her hair. _Inner. _Sakura calls softly. **Sakura..? **Inner asks curiously. _I may be acting silly...but I'm the only one worrying about this. I think something is wrong. _Sakura admits while walking past a puddle, **Sakura. There's a puddle. **_Yeah, I noticed. Hasn't rained in weeks, right? _**Yeah. Get close to Tazuna. I have a feeling somethings bad going to happen. **Sakura immediately breaks out into a run stopping in front of Tazuna and stands protectively in front of him, pulling out a kunai knife.

"Sakura, what the hell?!" Naruto questions before tensing up, noticing two ninjas jumping out of the puddle and wrapping their chains around Kakashi and ripping his body into pieces.

"Stop acting surprise and do something, idiots!" Sakura yells, breaking the two boys out of shock. Naruto jumps out of the way from an attack while turning to Naruto and nodding once. Sasuke sighs lightly and runs towards the ninja on the left and attacking.

"You know, Tazuna-san," Sakura mummers angrily, "After this fight you better have a damn good reason about why you lied." Tazuna silently raises an eyebrow in confusion. "Don't act stupid. These ninjas are after you. They keep glancing over." Sakura finishes before puffing her cheeks out in annoyance and tightens her grip on the kunai knife, "Of course I'll protect you with my life; if they come."

* * *

Kakashi narrows his eyes, watching the mist ninja look at Tazuna at every chance they have. _Ah. So it's not ninja vs ninja. They are after Tazuna-san. _His eyes glance over to the kunoichi of the team and frown lightly, _Is she trying to stay out of the fight? No; she's protecting Tazuna-san. _He thinks while glancing at her kunai knife, _By the looks of it she knows what their true intentions are. _

* * *

The two mist ninjas glance at each other and nod once. The both charge at the two genin ninjas that were attacking them before the one closest to Tazuna changes his direction and charges at him; planning to take both the kunoichi and Tazuna out with one strike. As he approaches her at a fast rate, he smirks noticing her tense up.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yells, smashing the other ninja's face in the ground trying to reach her in time. Sasuke swallows down his own yell while grabbing a hold of his kunai knife and charging at the mist nin. Suddenly, Kakashi appears in front of them and shakes his head, gripping their shoulders tightly, watching as Sakura fell to the ground. "Let go of me you old bastard!" Naruto yells fiercely, trying to get to his best friend.

"Naruto, it's too late. She's dead." Kakashi announces to them and walks over to them. He kneels down to the ground and notices Tazuna was safe. He sighs, and glares quietly at the client, "You have a lot to explain. But, we need to head back to the village to announce..." His eyes glance over to Sakura while licking his dry lips in sorrow, "To announce Sakura's death." Naruto, who is standing by Sasuke, lets out a howl of pain while falling to the ground next to Sakura and crying.

"Sakura, Sakura!" He yells, his tears falling on her face, "Damn it! I was supposed to protect you! Why didn't we listen to you when you said something was wrong?!" Suddenly, Naruto feels someone grab his hand lightly. His eyes widen and stare down at Sakura, who smiles softly at him.

"You idiot. I'm okay." She mumbles, placing a hand over her head and glancing behind her, noticing Tazuna is safe. She forces herself to sit up and gently places a hand on Naruto's cheek, wiping away his tears, "Stop crying. We need to make sure Tazuna-san didn't get hurt." Naruto chuckles placing a hand on her head and ruffling it, ignoring her cry of protest.

"Sakura-chan. Mind explaining _what the hell happened?!_" Naruto orders, glancing at the dead mist ninja in front of them. She scratches the back of her head and nods sitting up and telling them the story.

* * *

_"Tazuna-san." Sakura whispers softly to the male behind her, "I'm going to have to push you in a few seconds. I need you to roll out of the way as soon as possible." Tazuna nods once before feeling him being pushed out of the way. He falls on his butt before rolling a few feet away from the and watches as the younger girl fall to the ground. _

_After Sakura pushed Tazuna out of the way, she dodges his claw and slams her kunai knife into the mist ninja's chest and winces when he fell down to the ground, slamming his head onto hers. She too, falls down from the force of his headbutt. _

_"You little bitch!" He roars out quietly, raising his claw, about to plunge it into her heart. Sakura, reading his thoughts, quickly grabs another kunai out of her pouch and slams it into his heart and watches as the nin falls down on top of her. She quickly pushes him off and groans, closing her eyes. _

* * *

"So, you were shocked from killing?" Kakashi asks, raising a knowing eyebrow towards the female. Sakura glances over at him and glares, putting a hand over her head.

"Kakashi-sensei, "She starts while standing up with the help from Naruto and Sasuke, "You knew I was alive. Why the hell did you say all of that?!" She asks becoming louder. Kakashi smiles apologetically at his kunoichi.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. I was trying to get Tazuna to spill out the truth." Sakura stomps her foot childishly and points at him accusingly.

"That doesn't give you the right to announce my 'death', Sensei!" She yells crossing her arms over her chest, "Not only did you scare Naruto-kun, but Sasuke-kun was scared too. Not to mention Tazuna wasn't too happy either." She walks up to her sensei and pokes his chest, roughly, "Not to mention _death _isn't a fun or appropriate topic." She turns to Naruto and smiles lightly, knowing he's worried, "And Naruto-kun. You can." With her approval, Naruto rushes over to her and hugs her tightly before lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. He lightly sets her down on the ground and places his forehead on hers.

"Sakura-chan. I was worried." He mutters quietly, watching as she smiles lightly and places a hand on his cheek.

"I know. I was too." She admits, feeling a blush form on her cheeks. She knew her plan was stupid, and that there was a big chance of her actually dying, but Tazuna was too important; not to mention he was their client. She looks over to Sasuke and notices him staring at her cheek. She puts her hand over her cheek and blinks, noticing something sticky and wet is there. "Oh." She mumbles softly before looking up at Sasuke and shaking her head, "It's not mine. It's blood from him." She nods towards the dead mist nin.

"Now that we have that settled..." Kakashi starts, throwing an apologetic smile at Sakura, "Care to explain why ninjas are going after you?" He questions, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at Tazuna.

* * *

Sakura sighs softly to herself while sitting on a boat in between Naruto and Sasuke. Tazuna just finished telling them about the evil man, Gato. **Sakura, you were stupid. **Inner suddenly mutters making Sakura smile lightly. _I know. _**Why'd you do it? **_He has a family most likely. _**And so do you. **_A father in jail and a dead mother doesn't count. _**What about your other family? **_I haven't heard from them since I was three. Stop distracting me. _Sakura grumbles mentally at her inner-self before crossing her arms over her chest, not noticing the strange looks she is receiving from the boys.

* * *

After they arrive in the Wave country, they all climb off of the small boat and watch as Tazuna starts to walk towards the forest. Sakura begins to follow when Naruto grabs her shoulder and shakes his head. He kneels down with his back to her and grins.

"Piggy-back ride, Sakura-chan." He tells her, leaving her no chance to argue. Sakura huffs in annoyance and climbs onto his back before pouting. "You almost died on me; I'm not letting you out of my sight." He growls lowly while following Tazuna.

A small, shy smile appears on Sakura's face before she wraps her arms around his neck, making sure she doesn't fall from his clumsy steps. _I know. _She thinks to herself, silently replying to his comment.

* * *

_Ugh this chapter was just so...so troublesome to write! I have about four different copies for this chapter, but decided on this one. I know what you are thinking, "Why did Kakashi announce her death?" etc. Well, his real reason wasn't to scare Tazuna, he really thought she was dead, before deciding it was just her passing out from shock. I will admit, this isn't my favorite chapter, but then again I do like some parts in it. Man, this chapter was definitely hard to write though. Next chapter we will meet Zabuza and Haku. Please review! _

_~ElegantAngelxo_


End file.
